Football Results – Day 30 of Division One

TIGHT AT THE TOP - EVEN TIGHTER AT THE BOTTOM

Unbeaten in 14 matches, PSG (Paris St-Germain) conceded to Nancy (2-1) in their first League 1 defeat of the Ancelotti era.

The Italian coach had carried out some strange adjustments to his team as they faced up to their bogeymen from the East (Nancy had beaten them one-nil at home in Parc des Prince earlier in the season), leaving stars like Alex and Thiago Mota at home, with the likes of Maxwell and Nene warming the bench.

Despite a very strong period of domination in the second half, during which they were efficient in drawing level with Nancy, the Parisians lost the match after a counter-attack in the 88th minute.

A draw would have been enough for PSG to stay top of the league before they face OM (Olympique de Marseille). This promises to be a classico with plenty of fireworks owing to the fact that leaders Montpellier had a break this weekend. Their journey to Marseille had been put off until April 11th because of the upcoming second leg of the Bayern-OM Champions League quarter final.

Current title holders Lille (lying in 3rd place at the moment) are back within four points of PSG, having overcome Toulouse (4th) with no shortage of sparkle, beating them 2-1 in the process. Eden Hazard was in scintillating form and even without the services of Joe Cole, the Lillois were very much on top of the team with the best defence in L1 and the scoreline of 2-1 flattered the men from Toulouse. In the context of the much-coveted 3rd qualifying place for Champions League next year, this was an assured mark of intent from the north-easterners and a very important step at a crucial time: rivals Lyon, St-Etienne, Rennes and Bordeaux all dropped points this weekend, with Rennes and Lyon drawing 1-1, Bordeaux being held at home by Dijon and St Etienne going down 2-3 at home to Nice.

These erstwhile contenders, along with Marseille (still in free-fall) seem destined at this point to be saying goodbye to any hopes of qualifying for the Champions League. There is still one more Europa League place for fight for and a possible 5th place, depending on the results of the forthcoming League Cup Final between Lyon and Marseille.

At the other end, suspense is building dramatically on this 30th day of the League, with home victories from Sochaux and Auxerre (how the might have fallen): there are now just four points between the 12th-placed (Valenciennes) and the 19th-placed (Sochaux). With just three relegation places to avoid, it’s set up for a real dog-fight for survival!

Results – Day 30.

Saturday, 31 March 2012
Saint-Etienne 2-3 Nice

Bordeaux 1-1 Dijon

Lorient 0-1 Evian TG

Auxerre 2-0 Valenciennes

Sochaux 2-1 Brest

Nancy 2-1 Paris-SG

Sunday, 1st April 2012
Lille 2-1 Toulouse

Caen 0-0 AC Ajaccio

Rennes 1-1 Lyon

Classification

PTS (+/-)
1 Montpellier 60 (26)
2 Paris-SG 60 (22)
3 Lille 56 (23)
4 Lyon 50 (10)
5 Toulouse 50 (6)
6 Saint-Etienne 46 (3)
7 Rennes 45 (4)
8 Bordeaux 42 (3)
9 Marseille 40 (6)
10 Evian TG 39 (-1)
11 Nancy 36 (-8)
12 Valenciennes 34 (-7)
13 Dijon 34 (-12)
14 Lorient 32 (-10)
15 AC Ajaccio 32 (-18)
16 Nice 31 (-6)
17 Brest 30 (-5)
18 Caen 30 (-12)
19 Sochaux 30 (-15)
20 Auxerre 27 (-9)